After 9 long episodes of You season 5, Joe’s fate was finally sealed, and his adventure ride came to an abrupt end. It was a very unsatisfactory ending, I would say, maybe because for a man who scrutinized each and every situation so minutely, who was probably one of the best planners to have ever existed, and moreover, who had this hunger to understand the people he hunted, was outplayed in a rather unconvincing manner. That said, let’s recap the events of the finale, episode 10, and try to figure out what the future holds in store for the various characters.
Spoiler Alert
How Did Bronte Put Joe Behind Bars?
From wanting to lay a trap for the apex predator to falling head over heels for him, Bronte’s journey in You season 5 was quite intriguing. At the beginning of the 10th episode, we saw that she had made up her mind to trick the trickster and get justice for his victims. Bronte had shared a very good relationship with Beck; the former had a lot of respect for her, but I believe even then she wouldn’t have imagined that she could go to such extreme lengths to find out about her real killer. Also, trying to gather evidence against a man who had not only killed several girls but also made sure that he didn’t leave any trail behind wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Maybe there would have been times when Bronte reflected on the danger that loomed over her, but she was too involved in the investigation, and the thought of backing off never crossed her mind. So, coming back to episode 10, Bronte could have left Joe inside that burning bookstore, but all of a sudden she was struck with the thought that the man would never get exposed in front of the world. She decided that she needed to keep him alive until the authorities caught him red-handed. It was a risky move, and, frankly speaking, Bronte didn’t have any plan of action. Joe wanted to cross the border via boat near Chippewa Bay, and he was just waiting for the passports and other documents to arrive. Joe, throughout the journey, was feeling that something was really off with Bronte, but somehow managed to tamp down those feelings. Bronte realized that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the charade for much longer, and so while they were sharing an intimate moment, she took out her gun and pointed it at Joe. After that, a set of unconvincing events followed, or maybe they were just executed in a manner that made the narrative look a bit flimsy. So Bronte was almost killed, but somehow she not only managed to come back from the dead but she was also able to call the police right on time. Thus, Joe was taken into custody, and the first thing that Bronte did was to get Beck’s original work republished after deleting whatever Joe had added into it back in the day.
Maybe in the near future, Bronte will go back to pursue her passion and author a few novels. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes a best-selling author because she did have an original voice, no matter how twisted it might have sounded when she used to exchange ideas with Joe. I will say here that the kind of turnaround Bronte had, made everything that happened in the 10th episode look like a figment of her imagination. Maybe the rushed ending made it seem like that, or it was the shoddy execution that lacked conviction and, to some extent, even skimped on logic.
How Did Kate Manage To Survive?
Well, talking about unconvincing plot twists, Kate Lockwood not only survived Joe’s wrath but she was also able to miraculously make it out of the bookstore. Kate was shot, she was assaulted, and she was left to die in a building Maddie set on fire to kill Joe. But Kate did crawl out, and together with Henry, she got the life that she always wanted. After Kate made Teddy the CEO of the company, she was free of all her duties. She’d never felt so liberated in all her life. That said, she was somebody who had good business acumen, but spearheading a company, which she saw as the legacy of the man she hated, just didn’t feel right. Kate also had blood on her hands, but unlike her father, she felt guilty about it. That was the most significant difference between the father and daughter. In episode 10, Kate was almost purged by the fire, and like a phoenix emerged as a completely new person. She had some burn marks on her shoulder which she believed was her penance for siding with a monster like Joe. Kate wasn’t embarrassed by these scars, and cherished them as they reminded her how she has grown as a person. As Kate recovered from her injuries, she met Teddy, who told her that the company was being converted into a nonprofit. After leaving the company, Kate went back to pursuing her old profession, working as an art gallery manager, something she had indulged herself with in season 4 when Joe first met her in London. She even got a “phoenix rising from the ashes” painting from Joe’s past girlfriend, Marienne Bellamy, implying that Kate might want to showcase Marienne’s artwork in her gallery sometime in the future.
I think Henry’s future seems safe with Kate by his side. She was not his biological mother, but the kind of love she had for the little boy was unparalleled. I do not know if Henry’s going to inherit some traits of his father or not, but I do know that whatever happens in his life, Kate will always be there to support him and to show him the right way. Also, the way Henry looked at Kate’s scars, I think it suggests that he will not follow in his father’s footsteps and try to hurt people around him. He’s growing up in a completely different environment with people around who love him for who he is, and I feel that’s more than enough for him to grow up to be a normal person.
What happened to Maddie and Harrison?
In the 10th episode, the writers made sure that every character got their closure in a manner that, to any reasonable mind, didn’t seem plausible. So, just like Kate and Bronte coming back from the dead, a magical thing happened with Maddie too. The court learned that Maddie was the one who killed her twin sister, Reagan, but still, somehow, they didn’t put her behind bars. I do not know in which country a person who murdered someone could walk free without facing any kind of repercussions. I mean, I agree that she could have used the defense that she never intended to kill her sister, but still, it was culpable homicide. I have no choice but to believe they were living in some utopian society where she didn’t really face any such grave legal consequences. Also, Maddie was pregnant, and she was expecting twins. She was happy to be with the man of her dreams, and I think she is going to have her happily ever after.
What Happened To Nadia?
Nadia had been framed by Joe and Kate in season 4, and she was found guilty of murdering her partner Eddie. Nadia had imagined her entire life with her boyfriend, and her life was turned upside down in just a few minutes. Nadia was so scared that she didn’t even dare to argue in front of the judge and accepted whatever the prosecution said. Kate, in You season 5, realized the blunder she had committed and decided to do something about it. Moreover, Kate needed somebody who understood the crooked sensibilities of Joe and could help her beat him at his game. Together with Nadia, Kate put Joe in the same cage where he’d tortured so many girls in the past. Joe could get into somebody’s mind and Nadia had to literally shut him up at times in order to not lose her temper. The entire bookstore was set on fire by Maddie, but Nadia, fortunately, had left the premises before that. Joe’s conviction came as a huge relief to Nadia. She could finally live her life without fear. Nadia went back to teaching, and she made sure that she helped other unfortunate souls like her seek rehabilitation and get over their trauma.
What will happen to Joe Goldberg?
I personally would have loved to see Joe’s trial. I would have loved to witness how he reacted, how the lawyer proved his guilt, and whether or not there would be remorse in his eyes when the sentence was pronounced. But the narrative didn’t give us that satisfaction of seeing Joe in a helpless state. We got to know that the trial was messy, but in the end, Joe got what he deserved. I hope the judge treated his case as the rarest of the rare and gave him the harshest punishment. That said, there was absolutely no change in his behavior. He was lying on his bed in prison, reading a nonfiction novel called The Executioner’s Song written by Norman Mailer, implying that in the end, all he wished for was the death penalty but he won’t be getting it. Joe will likely spend the rest of his life in a box.
In the end, Joe received a letter from a crazy fan named Belinda, who had started to idolize him, and adored the depravity he had committed in his life. Probably, he got a lot of letters from loads of admirers, which is why he got a little bored of reading them. If you ask me what will happen to him, I believe that he will either try to escape from there or find something that would amuse him or keep him hooked inside the prison itself. I don’t think he will ever end up reformed or understand that whatever he had done to those women was not right. In Joe’s narrative, he was always the poor helpless lad who was compelled to do what he did, even though he wanted the best for all his victims. Well, guilt, remorse, etc., were words with which he would ever relate to in his life, but I do hope that for the safety of the people, he is never released from prison. And I might be reaching too far saying this, but Joe might end up taking his life in prison.
